Checking out some of the stunning landscapes of eastern California.
Recently, I browsed my old harddrive and stumbled upon pics from this road trip. It took place about five years ago, two years before I started this blog. Looking at the photos brought back good memories, and I thought I might as well share them. So, here's it:
The plan was simple: start in Vegas and make a quick loop west, up the Sierra Nevada, and back. Even without elaborate planning, it's hard to go wrong on this, as the region is densely dotted with national parks and preserves. Two of them, Death Valley and Yosemite, were our main targets.
As we crossed the state border, the surroundings were dry, desert-ish lands with occasional ruins from the past. Some saw these as nature polluting junk, but I didn't mind – I saw them as an opportunity to learn bits about local history. A bunch of mining once took place around here, and these ruins were better than any illustrated book about the topic. Then we drove further, to a different world..
Before we crossed the mountain range, we stopped at Mono Lake, which was like another open-air museum, showcasing geology and various ecosystems this time.
The whole area was spectacular. One moment, we drove below the sea-level elevation, and before we knew it, there were 13,000ft / 3500m+ mountains all over. Speaking of driving, we took on California's highest highway pass, Tioga, which took us to the Yosemite NP. Crossing the pass was a joyful experience, until the inevitable happened and we got stuck behind someone's motorhome. Yet, it was hard to be upset when all we needed to do was stop for a while and enjoy the views:
...and then return behind the wheel to have the road empty for some time again. This pattern then continued all the way to Yosemite Valley. Now, once the outlook towards it opened, it was an experience.
The whole NP was scenic from top to bottom – it kept us happy, and we didn't ask for more. However, the further we got into the valley, the more impressed we became. Steep, massive rock faces were liberally decorated by waterfalls, many of which are over 300ft / 100m tall. The king of them has a jaw-dropping 2,425ft / 739m.
The only issue was that while the pass had occasional traffic jams now and then, the valley was a constant one. It was like driving in Chicago during rush hour; only here, the walls were made of granite and the trees, not concrete and glass. Like in many places in America, there's hardly any alternative to driving, so when everybody travels with a car, the valley can get clogged pretty fast. That being said, we left the car in a lot and went on foot, trying to escape the congested feeling. It worked only up to a certain degree; we didn't do some massive hikes. Still, we even saw some wildlife.
While the park is massive and could use much more attention, our time was limited, so we got to see only a tiny fraction. Still, I was thrilled that I had a chance to get a glimpse of it.
And then drive on the other side again..
...where the environment changed just as fast as before; boom, desert.
That had an element of surprise for me. Before heading here, I expected some badlands, some dry soil, rocks, but sand dunes? Voila...
Other features felt just as exotic. Seriously, look at the colors of all those oxidized rocks:
The area was appropriately named "Artist's Palette," and I thought how this scenery must awaken an inner geologist in everyone. The colors peaked at the famous Zabriskie Point:
The sun was getting close to the horizon, and a quick look at a map pointed us toward Dante's View..
..which proved itself as a grand location to observe the sunset.
When the sunshine left, so did we. As the darkness fell, it was time to head back to Nevada.
If you liked this article, you might enjoy my other road trips in the USA, such as:
"St Louis:" Exploring the Gateway to the West. |
"Colorado:" Getting across the USA's colorful state. |
Alternatively, visit my Blog Archives for more categories and topics. Thanks for reading!
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